Doubling Up

D.J. King fights Krys Barch. AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez

There’s been a little trend since the Olympic break ended.  There haven’t been too many games with fights, but when there’s one, there’s two.

Last night continued the doubling: David Clarkson and Jamal Mayers went twice in the Devils-Flames game, and there were also two from the Canucks-Hawks matchup.  Andrew Alberts and Brent Seabrook in the first period, Tanner Glass and Ben Eager in the second.

Thursday night Milan Lucic took on his toughest NHL opponent yet in Colton Orr.  That same night DJ King repeated his October bout against Krys Barch.

Videos added

David Clarkson vs Jamal Mayers Mar 5, 2010
David Clarkson vs Jamal Mayers Mar 5, 2010
Tanner Glass vs Ben Eager Mar 5, 2010 x2
Andrew Alberts vs Brent Seabrook Mar 5, 2010 x2
Erik Johnson vs Jamie Benn Mar 4, 2010
D.J. King vs Krys Barch Mar 4, 2010
Wayne Primeau vs Shawn Thornton Mar 4, 2010
Colton Orr vs Milan Lucic Mar 4, 2010

Some reads

Orr’s bouts rated 18-plus
New Capitals forward Scott Walker gets the most out of his ability
Booth gets his revenge in Panthers’ win over Flyers
Getting To Know: George Parros
Trash-talking Kesler backs it up on the ice
Paul Bissonnette’s NHL career rises in Phoenix
15 Questions With Matt Carkner of the Ottawa Senators

Deadline Day 2010

Scott Walker fights Chris Clark in 2007. Walker was traded to the Capitals today. AP Photo/Gerry Broome

NHL clubs made 31 trades involving 55 players today prior to the 3 pm et, trading deadline. The number of trades and players involved are the most ever on deadline day.

• The Anaheim Ducks traded D Ryan Whitney and its 6th-round pick in the 2010 Entry Draft to the Edmonton Oilers for D Lubomir Visnovsky.
• The Anaheim Ducks traded G Justin Pogge and the Boston Bruins's 4th-round pick in the 2010 or 2011 Entry Draft (previously acquired) to the Carolina Hurricanes for D Aaron Ward.
• The Anaheim Ducks traded G Vesa Toskala to the Calgary Flames for G Curtis McElhinney.
• The Anaheim Ducks traded C Petteri Nokelainen to the Phoenix Coyotes for the Phoenix Coyotes's 6th-round pick in the 2011 Entry Draft.
• The Boston Bruins traded D Derek Morris to the Phoenix Coyotes for a conditional draft pick in the 2011 Entry Draft.
• The Boston Bruins traded RW Byron Bitz, RW Craig Weller and the Tampa Bay Lightning's 2nd-round pick in the 2010 Entry Draft (previously acquired) to the Florida Panthers for D Dennis Seidenberg and D Matt Bartkowski.
• The Buffalo Sabres traded D Nathan Paetsch and the Vancouver Canucks's 2nd-round pick in the 2010 Entry Draft (previously acquired) to the Columbus Blue Jackets for LW Raffi Torres.
• The Buffalo Sabres traded LW Clarke MacArthur to the Atlanta Thrashers for the Atlanta Thrashers's 3rd- and 4th-round picks in the 2010 Entry Draft.
• The Calgary Flames traded D Aaron Johnson and its 3rd-round pick in the 2010 or 2011 Entry Draft to the Edmonton Oilers for D Steve Staios.
• The Calgary Flames traded C Dustin Boyd to the Nashville Predators for the Nashville Predators's 4th-round pick in the 2010 Entry Draft.
• The Calgary Flames traded C Riley Armstrong to the Detroit Red Wings for D Andy Delmore.
• The Carolina Hurricanes traded D Joe Corvo to the Washington Capitals for D Brian Pothier, LW Oskar Osala and the Washington Capitals's 2nd-round pick in the 2011 Entry Draft.
• The Carolina Hurricanes traded RW Scott Walker to the Washington Capitals for the Washington Capitals's 7th-round pick in the 2010 Entry Draft.
• The Carolina Hurricanes traded C Stephane Yelle and RW Harrison Reed to the Colorado Avalanche for C Cedric Lalonde-McNicoll and the Colorado Avalanche's 6th-round pick in the 2010 Entry Draft.
• The Carolina Hurricanes traded D Andrew Alberts to the Vancouver Canucks for the Vancouver Canucks's 3rd-round pick in the 2010 Entry Draft.
• The Colorado Avalanche traded LW Wojtek Wolski to the Phoenix Coyotes for RW Peter Mueller and C Kevin Porter.
• The Columbus Blue Jackets traded D Milan Jurcina to the Washington Capitals for a conditional pick in the 2010 Entry Draft.
• The Columbus Blue Jackets traded D Mathieu Roy to the Florida Panthers for C Matt Rust.
• The Columbus Blue Jackets traded LW Fredrik Modin to the Los Angeles Kings for a conditional pick in the 2010 Entry Draft.
• The Columbus Blue Jackets traded LW Alexandre Picard to the Phoenix Coyotes for C Chad Kolarik.
• The Detroit Red Wings traded C Kris Newbury to the New York Rangers for LW Jordan Owens.
• The Los Angeles Kings traded LW Teddy Purcell and the Florida Panthers's 3rd-round pick in the 2010 Entry Draft (previously acquired) to the Tampa Bay Lightning for C Jeff Halpern.
• The Minnesota Wild traded C Eric Belanger to the Washington Capitals for the Washington Capitals's 2nd-round pick in the 2010 Entry Draft.
• The Montreal Canadiens traded RW Matt D'Agostini to the St. Louis Blues for RW Aaron Pulushaj.
• The New York Rangers traded G Miika Wiikman and their 7th-round pick in the 2011 Entry Draft to the Phoenix Coyotes for D Anders Eriksson.
• The Phoenix Coyotes traded D Matt Jones and its 4th and 7th-round picks in the 2010 Entry Draft to the Toronto Maple Leafs for RW Lee Stempniak.
• The Pittsburgh Penguins traded D Chris Peluso to the Toronto Maple Leafs for the Toronto Maple Leafs's 6th-round pick in the 2010 Entry Draft.
• The St. Louis Blues traded C Yan Stastny to the Vancouver Canucks for LW Pierre-Cedric Labrie.
• The Toronto Maple Leafs traded D Martin Skoula to the New Jersey Devils for the New Jersey Devils's 5th-round pick in the 2010 Entry Draft.
• The Toronto Maple Leafs traded G Joey MacDonald to the Anaheim Ducksfor Anaheim's 7th-round pick in the 2011 Entry Draft.
• The Vancouver Canucks traded D Mathieu Schneider to the Phoenix Coyotes for D Sean Zimmerman and a conditional pick in the 2010 Entry Draft.

There also was one waiver claim:

• The Edmonton Oilers claimed LW Ryan Jones from the Nashville Predators.

Olympics 2010 Break

Team Finland's Anssi Salmela, right, fights with Team USA's David Backes at the IIHF world hockey championship on Sunday, May 11, 2008. AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Andrew Vaughan

The Olympic break is here for the NHL. That's it for February. March 1st will feature the 90s rivalry of Detroit-Colorado and 24 other teams will resume play on the 2nd.

I've had a surprising amount of email about the Olympics and fighting, asking me if I think there will be any fights. In a word: no. It's not so much about the ejection as it is an all-star round robin, then single-elimination tournament.

If there is one player who might drop his gloves a little easier than the rest, it's Team USA's David Backes. He has four fights this season, three against Team Canada members. He's also fought in international play before, when he took on Team Finland's Anssi Salmela in the 2008 World Championship.

Last weekend jitters

There was a lot of activity this past weekend. A few notes:

• Krys Barch and Paul Bissonnette fought twice Saturday. Both scraps were pretty good, but the first was the highlight of the night.
• Adam McQuaid easily handled a willing Victor Oreskovich.
• Cam Janssen levelled Matt Bradley (late) before dispatching of Quintin Laing.
• On Sunday the two league leaders in fighting majors played each other, but fought different opponents. Zenon Konopka had a lengthy fight with Aaron Voros while Brandon Prust went with Matt Walker.
• Darcy Hordichuk went after Derek Boogaard. Again. This time it was clearly for a hit Boogaard laid on Ryan Kesler, not because the "coach told him to".

Over the break

Just because the NHL is on break, doesn't mean any other league is. There's still lots of hockey going on and we'll be covering it just the same as always. I'll also upload some vintage clips, plus fill the logs from a few years back each day.

Videos added

Kyle Chipchura vs Gilbert Brule Feb 14, 2010
Mike Brown vs Ladislav Smid Feb 14, 2010
Troy Brouwer vs Anton Stralman Feb 14, 2010
Darcy Hordichuk vs Derek Boogaard Feb 14, 2010 x2
Aaron Rome vs James Sheppard Feb 14, 2010 x2
Matt Walker vs Brandon Prust Feb 14, 2010
Zenon Konopka vs Aaron Voros Feb 14, 2010
Matt Beleskey vs Curtis Glencross Feb 13, 2010
Cody McLeod vs Richard Clune Feb 13, 2010 x2
Troy Bodie vs Adam Pardy Feb 13, 2010
Quintin Laing vs Cam Janssen Feb 13, 2010 x2
Krys Barch vs Paul Bissonnette Feb 13, 2010
Adam McQuaid vs Victor Oreskovich Feb 13, 2010 x2
Matt Corrente vs Tom Kostopoulos Feb 13, 2010
Krys Barch vs Paul Bissonnette Feb 13, 2010
James Neal vs Martin Hanzal Feb 13, 2010
Ian Laperriere vs Ryan O'Byrne Feb 13, 2010
Nate Thompson vs Matt Martin Feb 13, 2010

Jody Shelley Moved Before Freeze

Jody Shelley fights George Parros. AP Photo/Gus Ruelas

Jody Shelley was traded to the New York Rangers yesterday, right before the Olympic break roster freeze.

Donald Brashear cleared waivers and was assigned to the Hartford Wolf Pack this morning.

Brashear asked to be traded and knew he likely wouldn’t play as a Blueshirt again:

“It just shows me they don’t believe in me,” Brashear told The Record. “I ask for a trade, that’s more likely why I’m not playing any games. Usually, when you ask for a trade, they don?t play you.”

By bringing in Shelley, it’s unlikely Brashear will be recalled to play for the big club, but the Rangers may recall him in the hopes that a team claims him on re-entry waivers.

The Rangers traded a sixth round pick for Shelley.

Another fan favorite on this website went through waivers the past day.  The Detroit Red Wings have said goodbye to Brad May.  May has 10 of the Wings 18 fighting majors.  There’s been no reports of any team claiming him by the noon deadline today, and it is expected he’ll be assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Videos added

Colton Orr vs Cam Janssen Feb 12, 2010
Colton Orr vs Cam Janssen Feb 12, 2010
Chris Drury vs Matt Cooke Feb 12, 2010
Ryane Clowe vs Jonathan Ericsson Feb 11, 2010
Shawn Thornton vs Matt Walker Feb 11, 2010
Tanner Glass vs Nick Tarnasky Feb 11, 2010
Jean-Francois Jacques vs George Parros Feb 10, 2010
Matt Martin vs Tyler Kennedy Feb 10, 2010

Some reads

Shawn Thornton’s fists timely
Expect Derek Boogaard’s fists to be back with Wild next season
Sens days far from McGrattan’s mind
Canada sporting a new attitude

Super Saturday

Jody Shelley fights Wade Belak. AP Photo/Frederick Breedon

Big, big day in the NHL yesterday.  14 games with a total of 16 fights.

The highlight of the night was another round of Matt Carkner vs Colton Orr.  The third installment of this series went to Orr.  All three bouts have been decisive and the Leaf now takes the lead in the rivalry.

Drew Stafford and R.J. Umberger had a surprisingly good scrap.  After battling earlier in the game, the two came together along the boards.  As they separated Stafford removed his visored helmet and Umberger removed his own lid before the two traded punches.

There were two twofers last night as well.  Brandon Prust continues to be very busy as a Ranger and dropped the gloves twice with Andrew Peters.  Prust now has three fights in three games for New York and is tied with Zenon Konopka for the league lead with 21 FMs.

Wade Belak and Jody Shelley also fought twice down in Nashville.  The first scrap was a long one, and one of Belak’s best of the season.

While there were only two games early today, on Super Bowl Sunday, each of those games had a fight.  For most, there will be plenty of time to heal during the Olympic break.

Videos added

Blake Wheeler vs Ryan O’Byrne Feb 7, 2010
Craig Adams vs Mike Knuble Feb 7, 2010
Andrew Ladd vs Eric Brewer Feb 6, 2010
Cam Barker vs Barret Jackman Feb 6, 2010
Jody Shelley vs Wade Belak Round 2 Feb 6, 2010
Jody Shelley vs Wade Belak Round 1 Feb 6, 2010
Drew Stafford vs R.J. Umberger Feb 6, 2010
Steve Montador vs Jared Boll Feb 6, 2010
Paul Bissonnette vs Krys Barch Feb 6, 2010 x2
Dominic Moore vs Zach Bogosian Feb 6, 2010
Keith Ballard vs Ron Hainsey Feb 6, 2010
Andrew Peters vs Brandon Prust Round 2 Feb 6, 2010
Andrew Peters vs Brandon Prust Round 1 Feb 6, 2010
Ales Kotalik vs Stephane Veilleux Feb 6, 2010
Cory Sarich vs Todd Fedoruk Feb 6, 2010
Matt Carkner vs Colton Orr Feb 6, 2010
Bill Guerin vs Ryan White Feb 6, 2010
Darcy Hordichuk vs Shawn Thornton Feb 6, 2010

Some reads

‘A terrific rivalry’
Should Sean Avery’s taunting of NJ Devils’ Ilya Kovalchuk merit a misconduct penalty?
Senators underwhelmed by Raycroft

Instant Action

Steve Ott fights Cal Clutterbuck. AP Photo/Mike Fuentes

Dion Phaneuf and Brandon Prust didn’t take long to make an impression on their new teams.

After being challenged by Colin White just under seven minutes into his first game in Toronto, Phaneuf accepted and dropped the gloves, helping fire up the home crowd.  PL3 and Jay Rosehill had a great bout later in the period.

Prust, probably looking to remind his new team how he plays, went after Brandon Segal after Segal threw a hit on a Ranger.

In other action, Steve Ott went after Cal Clutterbuck twice for tossing the body around on the Stars’ stars.

Videos added

Brandon Prust vs Brandon Segal Feb 2, 2010
Cal Clutterbuck vs Steve Ott Feb 2, 2010
Cal Clutterbuck vs Steve Ott Feb 2, 2010
Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond vs Jay Rosehill Feb 2, 2010
Colin White vs Dion Phaneuf Feb 2, 2010
Darcy Hordichuk vs Colton Orr Jan 30, 2010
Aaron Voros vs Cody McLeod Jan 31, 2010
Sheldon Souray vs Jarome Iginla Jan 30, 2010
Shawn Horcoff vs Mark Giordano Jan 30, 2010
Jared Boll vs Brad Winchester Jan 30, 2010
Wayne Simmonds vs Mark Stuart Jan 30, 2010

Some reads

Ott going toe-to-toe helped pump up Stars
Zdeno Chara casts some light on finger injury
Face it: Fighting helps the Flyers
Ask the Sharks: Jody Shelley

Streaky Flames Still Fighting

Brandon Prust throws a punch at Brad Staubitz. AP Photo/George Nikitin

With 57 fights in 54 games, the Calgary Flames are the only NHL team averaging more than a fight per game.  They’ll need to keep fighting to stop the current nine-game losing streak (with three coming in the shootout).  They’ve lost 11 of 12 ever since winning five straight.

It’s been a roller coaster of a ride for fans.  They may not be able to count on wins, but they know they’ll get tough, defensive hockey. Brandon Prust has 18 fighting majors, second in the NHL to Zenon Konopka.  Brian McGrattan is tied for 6th in the league with 14 majors.

A Flames clip made the national highlight reels yesterday after Mark Fistric hit Eric Nystrom with Nystrom’s helmet in a fight.

Videos added

Chris Thorburn vs Arron Asham Jan 28, 2010
Eric Nystrom vs Mark Fistric Jan 27, 2010
Ryan O’Byrne vs Matt Smaby Jan 27, 2010
Mike Brown vs Matt Bradley Jan 27, 2010
Mike Brown vs Chris Thorburn Jan 26, 2010
Cam Janssen vs Brandon Prust Jan 25, 2010
Cam Janssen vs Brian McGrattan Jan 25, 2010

Some reads

NHL to crack down on headshots, Bettman says
Enforcers excel in art of grip it, rip it | Faster game, more fights in modern NHL
One time only - Fights
Canucks’ Kesler calls Blackhawks’ Ladd a ‘coward’
Kevin Westgarth’s Blog: Honored to be an enforcer

Firsts, Seconds

Wade Belak fights David Koci. AP Photo/David Zalubowski

Wade Belak and David Koci fought halfway through the first period of the Preds-Avs game last night.  It was a decent heavyweight battle, one that sometimes settles down a game.  But both teams continued playing hard and with under a minute left in the same period Steve Sullivan and Wojtek Wolski dropped the gloves after a whistle.  Really.

Sullivan hasn’t been in a fight since he had a quick bout with Tony Granato in 1997.  It was Wolski’s first fighting major at any major hockey level.

The fight wasn’t much, but enough to get a little headline from local papers:
Denver Post
The Tennessean

Rangers & Flyers classic battle

There were four fights in the Rangers-Flyers game Thursday night.  Getting the most attention from that game [from the Daily News to HuffPo] is Daniel Carcillo punching up Rangers points leader Marian Gaborik.

Carcillo responded to his critics via TSN’s Michael Landsberg:

“If you watch the video he came after me and I fought him just like I’d fight anyone else.”

The 24-year-old went on to tell Landsberg he would not have fought Gaborik if he did not drop his gloves first.

“I was pretty surprised and I’m not really sure if [Gaborik] looked up and saw who it was, but he dropped his gloves, I dropped mine and the rest is history.”

New York and Philly play again on March 14th.

The Gazette on Laraque

Montreal’s The Gazette has gone after Georges Laraque each day after the Habs told him to stay home.

From Pat Hickey, yesterday:

But Laraque’s ice time reflected his ability - or lack thereof. He was a fourth-liner whose role was defined by his skills. His most obvious skill was his ability to throw punches, but he had nine fights last season and only four this year.

Fourth-liners have to understand and accept their role, and when they don’t, they tend to whine and become a distraction in the room. Laraque had reached that point.

From Mike Boone, today:

In the wake of the Georges Laraque debacle, however, Gainey had to say something. And part of what the GM said was an acknowledgment that he had erred in signing the erstwhile heavyweight champion of the NHL.

Those of us old enough to remember Eaton’s will recall the department store’s promise: “Goods satisfactory or money refunded.” Sadly, the slogan died with the passing of the great retailer.

Teeth Thief? Someone Swiped Lappy’s Teeth
George Parros: Ducks hit some turbulence
Zenon Konopka gets fist flying fast against New York Rangers
Sinking Habs get physical
Mitchell’s first NHL fight wins some kudos
Canucks’ Tanner Glass will do ‘whatever it takes’ to win
Latendresse: From banger to big-time scorer
A Gentleman Enforcer Turns His Focus to Haiti

Canadiens Split With Georges Laraque

Christopher Higgins celebrates with Georges Laraque. AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Ryan Remiorz

Georges Laraque will not play for the Montreal Canadiens again this season according to a report on TSN.

General manager Bob Gainey contacted him Thursday morning and told him that head coach Jacques Martin didn’t had any confidence in him anymore and the team believes they can win without the enforcer in the lineup. The club will pay his salary for the rest of the season and will buy out the rest of his contract at the end of the 2009-10 campaign.

Given the style of teams Martin has recently coached in the past in Ottawa and Florida, it comes as no surprise that Martin wouldn’t be a fan of a player like Laraque.

“I was very emotional and I’m very hurt by this decision.  I’m a proud guy and I may have let my emotions get the better of me,” Laraque told TSN.

“Needless to say, I’m very disappointed.”

Afternoon Action

Raitis Ivanans fights Shawn Thornton. AP Photo/Gus Ruelas

Another busy Saturday has ended in the NHL and the only fistic action was early in the afternoon.  Just two games featured fights, Devils-Avs with three, Bruins-Kings with two.

Andrew Peters and David Koci got things started early in Colorado.  It was an even affair with Peters losing the armpit of his sweater.

Things picked up again the second period.  Mark Fraser and Ryan Wilson dropped the gloves a few minutes in, and Rod Pelley and Matt Hendricks went half-way through the period.

Out in LA, Adam McQuaid continued his introduction into the NHL.  He fought Brandon Segal.  It was McQuaid’s second fight in three games.  He’s played in just eight games so far this season.  It was Segal’s first regular season NHL fight.

The heavies went later in the first.  Shawn Thornton and Raitis Ivanans each moved higher up the FM leaders list.

Words, words, words

The talk about Darcy Hordichuk’s choice of words before fighing Derek Boogaard Wednesday night has simmered.

It amounts to: I didn’t say that and I don’t remember.  From The Province:

“No, I never did say that and at the end of the day, I probably believe Boogaard on this one,” Vigneault said Thursday. “It wouldn’t surprise me that Hordi told him: ‘Coach told me I’ve got to fight.’ It must have been a real intellectual conversation. How smart can you be to go after a guy like that?
...

“AV is the last guy who would ever send a player out,” said Hordichuk, who was also assessed a 10-minute misconduct for wanting a piece of Clutterbuck after the Boogaard bout. “I don’t know what I said to him at the time we were lining up. He wasn’t looking at me and I wasn’t sure he was going to fight. I told the refs ahead of time I might get a two-minute instigator.

“When the coach has to tell me to fight, I’m not going to be in the league very long. When guys are picking on your guys, that’s your green light to go after them.”

Videos added

Shawn Thornton vs Raitis Ivanans Jan 16, 2010 x2
Adam McQuaid vs Brandon Segal Jan 16, 2010 x2
Rod Pelley vs Matt Hendricks Jan 16, 2010
Mark Fraser vs Ryan Wilson Jan 16, 2010
Andrew Peters vs David Koci Jan 16, 2010
Wade Belak vs Brian McGrattan Jan 15, 2010 x2
Jay Rosehill vs Jason Chimera Jan 15, 2010 x2
Colton Orr vs Shaone Morrisonn Jan 15, 2010 x2

Some reads

Brashear benefits from Torts’ ‘numbers’ game
Grim Reaper: Not what you might expect
May was robbed
Inside the NHL: Case against Pens’ TV producer doesn’t add up